Watch: Law Roach Reveals Why Keke Palmer Fired Him as a Stylist
Sorry to this man, but not just anyone can style Keke Palmer.
And while Law Roach has put together many a memorable red carpet moments for stars like Zendaya, Celine Dion and Kim Kardashian, he admitted that the chemistry wasn’t there for the former Mad Style vice president.
“I couldn’t get it right,” Roach said during an Oct. 20 appearance on Aspire with Emma Grede. “To me, that wasn’t personal. I love Keke to death. It was a business decision that she should’ve made.”
At the time, Roach noted that his vision for Palmer—who was then-expecting her now-3-year-old son Leodis, whom she shares with ex Darius Jackson—differed from the one she had in mind.
“I couldn’t get the looks right,” he explained. “I couldn’t get the energy right. It was like, she made a business decision to fire me, and I love what she said. She called me and said, ‘You might be the best stylist in the world, but you are not the best stylist for me.’”
Roach appreciated that Palmer’s rejection had a bit of sweetness to it, recalling, “And I said, ‘Well, alright Keke Palmer.’”
And nearly four years later, Roach’s love for Palmer has, at least, not gone out of style. As he put it, “She knows exactly who she needs and what she wanted and I couldn’t deliver—and I’m not mad at that.”
In fact, in Roach’s eyes, Palmer was asking for him to spin gold.
“She was pregnant,” he recalled. “And she was lying about being pregnant. This lady had me putting her in all these clothes, hiding this baby bump and everybody in the world knew she was pregnant and she didn’t want to tell anybody, which is her choice.”
But the gag is, Roach didn’t want to do that.
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“To me, I couldn’t,” he explained. “I wanted to dress the bump and see it, and I had the stories to tell about that. She didn’t want that. She didn’t let me. But it was her experience and her decision to tell everyone she was pregnant when she wanted to do it. So, I couldn’t do it.”
While their professional relationship didn’t work out, Roach still emphasized he considers their time together a personal success.
“I tell that story all the time with pride,” he continued. “It was a business decision. A great business decision.”
For Keke’s part, she still appreciates Roach’s ability to keep things fresh and cool—even if it’s not in the way she does.
“Law lives for the drag,” Palmer—who now works with stylist Zoe Costello—said of dropping Roach during a 2024 panel alongside the stylist. “And I will always love you.”
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